The best prison ever.

I have been working on some scripts for some videos we are doing for an upcoming series, "Joesph: The E True Hollywood Story" and while studying for it, I came across a verse in Genesis that made me stop and laugh. In Genesis 40, two of Pharaoh's servants are in the prison with Joseph and they each have dreams that upset them. So Joseph walks in that morning and says "Why do you look so sad today?" (v7)
Why do you look so sad?!! They're sitting in prison! Did they normally sing in the morning? What kind of prison was this that he would notice that they were sad? Wouldn't they have been sad every morning?
Anyway, that made me laugh.

Coffee

I was just thinking about coffee and how much I enjoy drinking it and smelling it and going to a coffee shop and leaving smelling like coffee. I think the only thing that makes coffee any better is when it's free and enjoyed with a kindred soul.

Any Day Now

Well, we had what is supposed to be our final interview for the foster/adopt process on Monday. The phone could ring any day now.

On the Online Radio

Spirit 105.3 is the local Christian music station in the Seattle area and they have a program called the Local Music Project where they play local artists and give a little bio. They have moved it to their website now and this week, I am being featured on the program. Give it a listen.
Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and click on My Everything.

Adoption

So we made the drive down to Kent this morning to the DSHS office to watch a video on caring for, and recognizing the symptoms of drug affected babies as part of our process for adopting a child from the foster care system. Wow. It was one of the most sad things I have ever seen. The good news is that with proper care and environment, these children can, in most cases, go on to live very normal, productive lives.
When we started this process, our motivation was purely selfish in that we were doing it to be sure we got a girl. After going through the process, we have come to realize that we really will be helping someone have a chance at life they would not otherwise have had.
I would never say that everyone who can should adopt because it's not for everyone, but there is such a need for these kids to find homes that maybe we should search our hearts and see if there is room for a child who needs a family.

You Know You're In A Large Church When...

I brought my oldest son to the kids event at the church Friday night called Friday's Rock. It was great and he was so excited. There were so many people there we stood in line to get in line. We had to fill out an emergency contact sheet and the woman helping at the table asked me if we had been to the church before. I thought that was pretty funny because I get a lot of "face time". I said "Yeah, we come" not wanting to embarrass her or pull the whole "Do you know who I am?" bit. You know you're at a big church when that happens.

It's things like this that illustrate the importance of small groups. In a congregation this large, it is easy to get lost in the crowd (apparently even for me). Having a place where you can experience accountability, belonging and care is vital to our spiritual growth.

You know you're in a big church when...

You can't see the building from where you parked.

The walk from your car to the building counts as your 30 minutes of daily exercise.

The camera operator is closer to the stage than you are.

The ushers have to swap out for empty plates halfway through the offering.

The pastor introduces himself every Sunday.

They have trough style urinals like the Kingdome had.

Every week in staff meeting, the pastor asks "Is there anybody new here today?"

The band has more members than your old church did.

Knuckle Head

Winter Camp '09

This past weekend was our youth ministry's Winter Camp. We had a great time on the ridiculous tubing hill and the drive over the pass provided enough memories and inside jokes to last for a long time. The best part however, was seeing the kids engaging God in worship and praying for each other. The last night, after service we were packing up and getting ready to head back over the mountain and I started to feel a tickle in my throat. So now I am fighting a pretty bad cold. I am thankful that it waited until we were done with camp to come on.
The speaker for the camp was Roosevelt Hunter who really connected with the kids. On Sunday morning, he spoke at New Life in the Main Services and absolutely KILLED it! I think the funniest thing he said was in regard to Jesus not being white or black but in the middle: "He was white enough to get into the dignified places but dark enough to eat chicken with the brothas on the weekend."
Roosevelt is dealing with cancer and if you read this, say a prayer for him and his family as they go through it.
Here are some inside jokes from the weekend, you probably won't get any of them but I put them on here for posterity.
Fly Away
Busting Grumpys
"No, I have coffee."
T-Shirt
"Uh, they have good coffee there."
"Ees on dee paper, ees close enough"
"I don't know anything about trailers...I don't know anything about guys either."